The task of intelligence gathering is neither easy nor sure. Meaning must be gleaned from a flood of hints, rumors and suspicions; the intent of madmen must be divined, and then a course of action and response must be devised.

Disasters await at every turn, whether from action or inaction. Worst of all, the recipient of an intelligence report stands in danger of hearing what he wants to hear.

There can no longer be any denying that the intelligence gathering and decision making processes broke down somewhere on the road to war with Iraq.

David Kay, the former chief weapons inspector, now says "it turns out that we were all wrong, probably," about whether Iraq posed a threat with unconventional weapons.

In response, President Bush has begun naming members of a bipartisan panel to find where the problems were. "As we move forward in our efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, we must stay ahead of constantly changing intelligence challenges," he said. "The stakes for our country could not be higher, and our standard of intelligence gathering and analysis must be equal to that of the challenge."

The makeup of this commission seems to make it clear that Bush is serious about wanting a real investigation. The members announced so far are people of experience and expertise who will put the good of their country above the good of their party. They include two Vietnam veterans, Charles Robb, a Marine and former Democratic senator; and John McCain, a POW and current Republican senator.

Their task must include an assessment of whether the White House manipulated the information received to create a threat that didn't exist. Both the president and Secretary of State Colin Powell made persuasive arguments that the threat was real and was immediate. The president's use of the specter of mushroom clouds was especially convincing for those of us who grew up in the nuclear shadow.

It appears that the reality of the situation in Iraq was that a policy of containment was working, just as it did with the former Soviet Union.

Defenders of the administration's actions point out, quite correctly, that President Clinton also had expressed worries about Iraq's capabilities and the potential threat that Saddam Hussein posed. Indeed, Clinton continued the enforcement of the no-fly zones and the stiff pattern of economic sanctions that had begun under the first President Bush. But Clinton was satisfied with containment, rather than seeking justification for war.

That said, however, we reiterate our belief that we need to finish the job in Iraq.

The people of Iraq suffered long enough under a tyrant. They now have the chance to build a free society, and we must commit ourselves and our soldiers to that difficult task, even if it means an American presence for years into the future.